


New Horizons

by Independence1776



Series: Happy AU [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Good Loki, Multi, Polyamory, Vacation, background canon relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2014-12-17
Packaged: 2018-03-01 23:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2791775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Independence1776/pseuds/Independence1776
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki brings Clint and Natasha to Alfheim for a brief vacation followed by the retrieval of a cursed treasure. Loki thinks nothing will go wrong; Natasha and Clint aren’t so sure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Horizons

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to Keiliss for the beta!

Natasha snapped her head up from her book when a sudden movement of green and black cloth in a supposedly empty corner of the apartment flickered in her peripheral vision. She raised an eyebrow at Loki when he raised his empty hands with a smile on his face. “Hello.”

She relaxed against the couch cushion and closed her book, leaving a finger in it to mark her place. “Good evening, Loki.”

Clint's voice floated out from the kitchen, where he was doing dishes. “I thought you'd still be on Asgard cleaning up after Malekith's attack.”

Loki made a face and stepped out of the corner to settle down on the couch at Natasha's feet. “Thor spends more time here with Jane, because Father's opinion has turned against her again and it's making Thor reconsider the kingship. That's causing tension for a multitude of reasons. Mother is hardly speaking to Father at all due to his mismanagement of the crisis. And I am caught in the middle of everything. I desire a break from it.”

Clint leaned against the arch separating the kitchen from the living area, a dishtowel in his hands. “So you came here?”

Loki grinned. “Actually, I thought to go elsewhere. How would the two of you like to visit Alfheim for the week instead of wherever you had planned for your leave?”

Natasha shook her head. “A little less than a week. Clint and I were heading out to the cabin in the morning and we need to return on Saturday.”

Loki looked a little perturbed by the lessened timespan, but laid a relaxed hand on Natasha's legs. “That leaves a day less for leisure than I'd hoped, but no matter.”

Clint snorted. “Is there business you need to attend to there?”

Loki shrugged. “Define business. An adventure, maybe. It depends how you classify a retrieval of cursed treasure. I was fully prepared to return you to Midgard beforehand--”

“Actually, that sounds like fun,” Natasha said.

Loki glanced up at Clint, who nodded. Loki smiled. “Then that's what we'll do.”

Clint tossed the dishcloth into the kitchen and sat down on the blue recliner next to the picture window. “So what's it entail?”

Loki leaned forward, keeping his hand on her legs. “My original plan was to spend a week with you on the beach nearby, occasionally leaving you two to your own pleasures while I scout out the abandoned fort where the treasure is located. After your leave ended, I would return and retrieve the treasure for Asgard's vaults.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Now… I think a few days of leisure would benefit all of us, and then we can retrieve the treasure.”

“But you won't take us to Asgard,” Natasha said. “You'll bring us home first.”

Loki nodded and lifted his hand from her legs to pick at his cuticles. “Bringing you into Asgard right now would not be politic. Father blames Jane for finding the Aether, and forcibly reminding him that both of his sons have mortal lovers would…” He shook his head and spread his hands flat on his legs. “Better to flaunt the rules about mortals in other realms on other realms.”

He leaned back with a sigh. Natasha nudged him with a foot and he absently took her feet into his lap and began a foot massage. Clint said, “What about Heimdall?”

Loki snorted. “He'll watch and say nothing. This is little worse than many things that Thor and I have done over the years.”

Natasha glanced at Clint and then back at Loki. She rather had the feeling that Loki would allow the guardian to know just in case something happened that would otherwise leave them stranded on another planet with no way back to Earth. “So what's the curse?”

“No one really knows the history behind it. The fort itself was built a thousand or so years ago, when three brothers fought each other over a point of honor. None of them wanted to do it, apparently, because they agreed almost immediately that they would use only primitive methods and equipment to fight.”

“That sounds rather ridiculous,” Clint said. “How many people died?”

“Several hundred, all soldiers. They'd even kept the war in a distant part of their territory.”

“Then why fight at all? And don't tell me it was purely over honor.”

Loki stared at him, blinking for a couple of seconds. “Honor over an insult in an argument. That's all I know. I'm not sure I was even born when it happened. But that is neither here nor there, Clint. It happened. There were three forts built. One has been completely destroyed over the years due to the hurricanes that sometimes come through the area. One is half in ruins from the same. The last is the one we're visiting.”

“None of the forts were destroyed by the fighting?”

Loki shook his head, a small smile on his face. “They were built far enough apart that the cannons they used could not shoot accurately over the distance. Only one cannonball made it to the fort, and three people were injured. No one died. The lone land battle happened about fifty leagues west, and that's where the majority of the soldiers died. The war ended afterward. It only lasted about half a dozen years.”

Clint and Natasha exchanged glances. “So if the fort wasn't cursed then…”

“The forts were abandoned afterward, of course. They weren't terribly useful for anything else. They fell into disrepair and eventually the grandchildren decided to restore the one on the mainland, rather than the two on the barrier islands of the bay, and then open it for visitors. Sometime in the next several decades, a sorcerer hid something in one of the powder magazines, though no one knows exactly where-- and they've looked. No one realized it happened until several people received the curse and died from it. The owners put a divider between the unsafe section and the rest of the fort, but word spread and they eventually closed the fort to everyone.”

“And that's what we're going there to find. I hope it's worth it,” Clint said.

“It should be. I know enough that the curse will be no problem--”

“If it is?”

Loki met Natasha's eyes, hands stilling. “It induces a sense of paranoia, eventually leading the victims to conclude that they cannot trust anyone, even their closest family and friends. They invariably flee and end up being killed.”

“By what?” Clint said.

“Animals, if they head into the wilderness. People in populated areas, because they'll eventually attack anyone they perceive to be threatening them.”

“Is there a cure?”

“Undoubtedly. But no one was ever caught early enough to use it on.”

Clint and Natasha exchanged more looks and Loki rolled his eyes. “I wouldn't attempt to do this either alone or with you if I thought it unsafe. And you put yourselves into similar situations regarding possibly fatalities. What is the difficulty?”

Clint shook his head. “Put that way, there isn't. All right. What do we need to bring?”

Loki relaxed and resumed the foot rub. “It's early summer there, so the weather will be hot and humid, with the possibility of daily afternoon or evening thunderstorms. Do not bother to bring any insect repellent; it likely will not work well. I'll provide charms against them.”

“Sunscreen?”

“I think that may be best brought by yourselves.”

“What about food and water?” Natasha said. “Is the beach saltwater or fresh?”

“Salt, but the fort has a well I can teleport to. And we can hunt for meat.”

“We'll need to boil the water for at least a minute before using it.” At Loki's perplexed expression, she said, “We won't be immune to whatever bacteria and viruses are in it. We have to do it on Earth in the wilderness, too. We might not be able to eat--”

“I'll also make charms to test against that,” Loki said with a sigh. “Jane hasn't had any problems--”

“On Asgard,” Clint said. “We aren't going there.”

“Is there anything else I need to be aware of when traveling with mortals?”

Natasha pulled her feet away from him and sat up, her book slipping out of her hand and onto the couch next to her as she did so. “Stop blaming us for being more fragile than Asgardians.”

Loki rubbed his forehead. “I apologize. I did not consider… Jane… I do not realize, sometimes, exactly what your limitations are. Are you sure you wish to come?”

Clint stood up, walked over, and leaned against the side of the couch next to Loki. “Yeah, of course we do. When else will we get to see another planet? Just make the charms and we'll handle the rest.”

Loki studied both of them and nodded once. “You said you were leaving in the morning?”

“The cabin is in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It's a few hours west of here.” She glanced up at Clint. “I'd rather SHIELD not know we're heading off-planet. They're already not happy that we'll be practically incommunicado this week. If they knew they wouldn't be able to contact us at all…”

“We should tell Steve,” Clint said. “He won't tell anyone else if we ask him not to.”

Natasha grinned. “I have a phone number to give him anyway.”

Loki laughed. “Are you still trying to play matchmaker?”

“And failing,” Clint said cheerfully. “I think it's becoming a running joke between them.”

Natasha leaned her head back on the couch. “I'll stop when it annoys him. How are the nights on Alfheim?”

“Pleasant. A shawl may be useful, but I don't think you'll require it. We'll likely be able to sleep outside rather than take shelter in the fort.” He paused. “I know Jane would likely bring a telescope--”

“Neither of us own one; I'll bring my binoculars.” She ordinarily wasn't one for stargazing, but she'd make an exception here. “And Clint will bring his camera.”

“Stark won't believe us otherwise.”

“He might. He'll just be insanely jealous of us and then pester you.”

Loki snorted. “Unlikely. He's well aware that my patience is limited. And what we do with our relationship and where we go is none of his concern.”

“Back to our departure: do you want to drive to the cabin, Natasha?”

“We'll have to, to keep SHIELD from catching on. And Loki can't teleport the car.”

He made a disgruntled face. “Alfheim has a time difference of about six hours forward.”

Clint shrugged. “Then we'll leave really early and you can meet us at the cabin. Midafternoon on Alfheim is still enough time to explore, especially since it's the summer.”

Loki nodded. “I will not ride with you.”

“Good,” Natasha said, standing up. “I don't feel like putting up with three hours of muttering about primitive technology. Especially from a man whose culture prefers to use horses when they have flying skiffs.”

Loki snickered. “We each have our foibles.”

He stood up and stretched before spinning to kiss Clint. “Are you finished cleaning up from dinner? Or can I distract you from that and packing?”

Natasha shook her head and walked down the hall to their bedroom, calling over her shoulder. “If you distract us too long, we'll be even later getting out of here in the morning.”

“Well, I wouldn't want that,” Loki responded. “Pack first, and then we'll have fun.”

 

* * * * *

 

They ended up packing afterward. As Clint reached into the bathroom cupboard to grab the sunscreen tube, Natasha leaned against the doorway. “Do you think it'll be as easy as he says?”

“He gone?” He looked over his shoulder in time to catch Natasha's nod. “I think so, but I'm taking my Asgardian trank arrows just in case. If either one of us needs to be subdued, I have no doubt he'll use magic.” He passed her the sunscreen. “Here.”

She took it from him with a roll of her eyes and he ducked his head back into the cave-like cupboard interior. “What are you getting now?”

“Condom boxes!”

* * * * *

 

Natasha stepped out of the driver's seat and looked around at the empty clearing surrounding the small but well-constructed log cabin she'd purchased-- under her real name-- a decade ago. SHIELD didn't know about the other safehouses she had scattered about the world, and this one gave her and Clint somewhere to go for vacation if they didn't want to travel far. They usually didn't; international travel for business generally meant they had to be careful where they did travel for fun. And with the possibility of emergencies, it was better to be within driving distance. The clearing was big enough to land a helicopter or Quinjet in, too, if it came to that.

Clint shut the passenger door and walked to the trunk to retrieve their luggage. “He's either in the cabin or not here yet.”

“Not here; he'd be too impatient to wait for us.” She met Clint's eyes as she took the duffel full of ammunition and wilderness survival supplies from him. “Anxious, more likely. He told us what he knew, but I have the feeling it won't be enough.”

Clint snorted. “We could have had a nice vacation on an alien beach. Why did we decide that helping him retrieve cursed treasure would be a break?”

Natasha shook her head, smiling. “It'll be new. And I don't think it'll take long.”

“Most likely we'll just be watching.” He settled his quiver on his back and picked up his bowcase. “And don't tell me it's what I'm best at.”

“I wouldn't dream of it,” Natasha said, juggling her bags to palm the cabin's discreet fingerprint lock and leaning down slightly for the retinal scan. “I could use a cup of tea.”

After a quick trip to the bathroom, Natasha put the tea kettle on the gas stove and waited for the water to boil. Just after she'd poured the water into the two mugs-- peppermint for Clint and Earl Grey for herself-- Loki's distinctive knock sounded on the front door. She greeted him with a kiss. “Tea?”

“I suppose.”

That was enough of a yes that he actually meant it, despite the tension in his voice. He closed the door behind himself and followed her into the kitchen. She put more water in the kettle and put it back on the burner. “Trouble leaving Asgard?”

“Mother guessed that I was planning something a little more devious than escaping to Midgard for a week.”

“Ah.” She poured the now-boiling water into the mug with Loki's preferred blend of oolong and drained the excess water down the sink. She took Clint's tea bag out of his cup when the timer on the microwave rang, just as he walked into the room. “So she knows what we're doing?”

“Not quite. She doesn't know about the object, but she does know that I'm bringing you to Alfheim. She wished us a pleasant journey.”

“Well, that's good then. You can surprise her,” Clint said.

“And Odin.” Loki winced. “Though that may not be a pleasant conversation if he realizes you were with me at the time.” He drained his tea. “Are you ready?”

Natasha lifted her eyebrows and sipped her tea. Clint said, “Our bags are in the living room, if you want to put them in that extradimensional pocket of yours.”

Loki and Clint dropped their empty mugs in the sink, leaving Natasha alone in the kitchen. She leaned against the counter, breathed in the stale air and scent of tea, finished her mug, washed everything, and met them at the door. They stepped outside and she locked the door behind them. Loki stopped midway between the cabin and the car, hands spread from his sides. “Hold onto my hands and don't let go.”

A swift, stomach-churning teleport later, and they landed in another deciduous forest. Loki didn't release their hands, but led them slightly deeper into it until they came to the bottom of a short cliff, maybe ten feet tall. He looked back at them, a wicked grin on his face. “Here we go.”

He pulled them forward and a few seconds of blinding light disoriented her enough for her to stumble upon landing… somewhere on Alfheim. Loki released her hand when she recovered. She blinked the afterimages away and looked around her. They were nowhere near a subtropical beach, if the snow in the shadows of the tree roots was any indication. “We have one more teleport left, don't we?”

Loki nodded. “But this is your first glimpse of another realm. What do you think?”

She half-smiled. “It looks like Earth.”

Loki made a face at her and turned to Clint, who stared at something Natasha couldn't see in the trees. “That bird has four wings.”

Loki shrugged. “Most flight-capable beings here do. Shall we?” He held out his hands again and wiggled his fingers.

Another teleport and this time, the heat and humidity meant they were in the correct location. White sand squeaked and shifted under her boots; the sun blazed down, shining on the gentle waves lapping the sand; and the scent of saltwater hung in the air. She let go of Loki's hand and stepped back, pulling her sunglasses off the top of her head and putting them on.

For one instant, she felt like she was in Florida, but the impression faded rapidly. The sky was darker here and the leaves on the vegetation she could see didn't look quite right. Neither did the water-- clearer than she thought possible in a location like this-- and the sheer fact that the beach was empty of people for as far as she could see. Not even the barrier islands looked like they had seen any sapient inhabitants, though she knew both had, however briefly.

She turned around and stopped. A quarter of a mile inland, on a low rise, stood the worn, pale red brick fort with the white semicircular construction of a water battery in front, a grassy meadow stretching between it and the water. “If no one takes care of the fort, why hasn't this land returned to forest?”

Loki moved his hands, unpacking his pocket. Some of their belongings were already on the grass next to the sand. “The preservation spells maintaining the view will last as long as the ones on the fort walls, about another five or six decades, I think.”

That, more than being on another world, was a reminder that Loki, no matter that he was only barely an adult by Asgardian standards, was centuries older than Clint and herself and would live for millennia more. She knelt down and began searching in a bag for the sunscreen. “How long do they normally last?”

“About a century or so. The mages who created them here specialized in that sort of work; I feel that much.” He looked down at her. “Do you wish to see the fort now or later?”

She pulled out the tube of sunscreen. “Later. It doesn't look that large; we can explore it before we retrieve the treasure. For now, let's set up the campsite and then relax. It's too nice out to do anything else.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Clint said. “Toss me the sunscreen when you're done with it.”

It didn't take long to set up the pavilion Loki brought from Asgard, nor the tarp to keep dew off their sleeping bags. Loki fastened the charms against insects to short wooden stakes encircling their camp while Clint dug a latrine pit a short way into the woods, after Loki reported that the plumbing in the ramshackle visitors' center no longer functioned. Once the food had been stowed in a box spelled to repel wildlife, Loki drew a dagger. “I need a drop of blood from each of you for the charms.” He held two red-orange clay pendants in his other hand.

Natasha held out her hand and he pricked a finger, letting one drop of blood fall onto one pendant. He healed the prick and did the same for Clint. Once that was done, he whispered a few words, causing the unglazed clay pendants to momentarily glow green, and then handed the ones they'd bloodied to Clint and Natasha. “They'll grow warm if anything you touch is poisonous to you.”

“Thanks,” Clint said, pulling the leather cord over his head. He shucked off his sandals, changed into his swim trunks, and waded into the water.

Natasha studied the runes covering the earthenware clay. It wasn't pretty work-- something she knew would bother Loki-- but it functioned. “Thank you.” She slipped it over her head, sat down on the blanket-covered tarp, and looked out over the water to the entrance to the bay. “Have you ever visited here before?”

“Once, about a century ago. The barrier islands, though. It was… a welcome seclusion with my then lover. Neither one of us wished to be caught with each other, and this was one of the last places we met.” Loki sank down onto the blanket next to her. “We broke off our entanglement a dozen years later, out of mutual desire. Bringing you here was not a difficult choice. I'd always wished to return.”

She rested a hand on his linen-covered leg. “What do you think will happen here?”

“With you two: a lot of sex and some relaxation. I know all three of us need it, no matter how difficult we find it to be.”

“Clint brought his recurve bow. I'm not sure how that counts for relaxing. And we should probably find something to eat for dinner.”

“Fish is plentiful enough.” He threw a grin at her. “If Clint hasn't scared them all away by now.”

She laughed. The waves were too gentle to bodysurf, but that didn't stop him from trying. But he looked more relaxed already. And she could feel that in herself, too.

 

That night, Natasha lay back on the beach towel she'd spread on the sand and looked up at the unfamiliar stars, her binoculars back in their case at her side. She located the constellation Loki said pointed to the northern pole star, just to make sure she could, and then stared out into the depths of space. Here, even more than in some of the dark places on Earth, the stars shone brilliantly, more numerous by far than back home. Even the Milky Way-- if it was the Milky Way and not some other galaxy entirely-- was brighter.

She looked over at Clint when she heard plastic rustle near the campfire. “How come we've never introduced you to s'mores before?”

Loki, with a dubious expression on his face, held a marshmallow between two fingers. “Because they sound repellant?”

Natasha held back a smile and sat up, reaching for the box of graham crackers. “Just try one. If you don't like it, Clint'll eat it.”

“Not you?”

“I don't like marshmallows.” But semi-melted chocolate between two graham crackers she did.

Natasha kept one eye on Loki as he assembled his s'more and grinned when he took a cautious bite and inhaled the rest, immediately making a second. After licking the remnants of chocolate off his fingers, Loki looked over at her. “SHIELD's asking questions, isn't it?”

Natasha shrugged a shoulder, briefly held a twig in the fire, and then pulled it out, watching the end of it slowly burn. “They wonder if Asgard will interfere with Earth matters. The Tesseract--”

“Was unique. We knew you could not fight off an invasion of such magnitude on your own.”

Clint snorted. “Yet we managed, with only you and Thor's help.”

“Asgard has no reason to become involved now, despite you now knowing you aren't alone in the universe. If we do not interfere with your current wars, why would SHIELD be concerned that we would in the future?”

“You interfere on other realms.”

Loki's lips twitched. “Yes, well, Thor and I are merely cleaning up after the chaos caused by both the heir and the spare being exiled. Some people mistakenly thought that it meant Asgard's reach was failing.”

“That's what they're concerned about,” Clint said, putting yet another marshmallow on a stick. “You deciding that Earth's governments aren't doing enough.”

Loki snorted. “They aren't. They're too chaotic and hypocritical. The common people in your democracies think they have a voice, and yet everyone knows they don't. It is the powerful who decide policy. Pretending otherwise helps no one.”

“Better you think we become like Asgard?” Natasha said. “A total monarchy? What happens when the ruling line fails or there are questions of succession? Civil war-- and in the long run, how does that help anyone?”

Loki winced. “It does not.” He glanced briefly down at his left hand and then back up at her. “There are monarchies on Earth.”

“Don't, Loki. You know full well the problems many of them have.”

“Yet we do not interfere there, either. Midgard's problems are Midgard's problems.”

“Is that why you didn't interfere when HYDRA used the Tesseract in World War II?”

“Among other reasons. We also knew you had people fighting to stop them-- and they succeeded.” He wore a small smile on his face. “I must admit that I never thought I'd meet one of them.”

Clint said, “And then there's the whole aliens exist thing. That wouldn't have helped anyone.”

“It would likely have caused the world to unite against us, or at the very least, see us as another conquering people.”

“Hitler would have been overjoyed-- for the few minutes it took him to realize Asgardians are nothing like the myths.”

Loki snorted. “People like him…” He shook his head. “But I see the attraction in ruling with such control.”

Natasha studied him. If things had gone differently, if he hadn't been exiled in New Mexico with Thor, if something had happened to turn him against Asgard and his family, if the conversation about his adoption had gone poorly… She remembered how he'd correctly predicted the reasons why New York City was a prime invasion target: a large population to kill, whose deaths would cow the rest of the world; the fallen city proof that the American government could not defend its own people, much less anyone else; Tony's lightly guarded reactor, and others beside. This conversation was a reminder that for all Loki loved them and was amused by Earth, he had very different views on how things should be ordered. “Monarchies fall, too, Loki.”

He grimaced. “Asgard is not Earth.” He gestured up at the sky. “I have been places where the governments are stranger than democracy. We do not force ourselves on them. Tell SHIELD that Asgard will not interfere in its business.”

Natasha nodded. “We will.”

“The question is if they'll believe us,” Clint said.

“That is none of my concern,” Loki said and reached for another marshmallow.

 

* * * * *

 

Loki groaned and rolled over to sit up when a drop of water hit him on the cheek, blown into the pavilion by the wind. He opened his eyes to glare at the now-cloudy sky. So much for showers mainly in the afternoon and early evening, which had only happened once in the past few days. He nudged Clint with a foot and poked Natasha's side. She blearily opened her eyes and glared at him. Clint didn't move, but from the sudden tenseness he could see in the sleeping bag, Loki knew he was awake. “It's beginning to rain.”

“Good thing we were already planning on exploring the fort today,” Clint said.

Natasha sighed and looked up at the fort on the low rise. “Not all of it is indoors.” She rolled up her sleeping bag and looked at Loki. “Unless you can lower the drawbridge, you'll have to teleport us in.”

“I know. It will be easier, I think, especially if the rain worsens.”

It only took a few minutes before Loki teleported them into the tiny parade ground. He strode off to the interior of the fort itself. It would be better protected from the weather and closer to the treasure's location. Clint and Natasha followed him into the sally port proper, where green doors hid the drawbridge. The floor sloped to the doors, so he turned left, down a step into the guardroom. “This is the guardroom. I think we could stay here.”

Clint grimaced. “Are you sure we aren't setting off some alarm somewhere?”

“Rather. Unless you'd prefer to stay out in the rain?”

Natasha shook her head. “It's cooler in here. That alone is worth the move. But how wet will this room get? There isn't anything to block the water from coming in from the passageway.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “We'll move a chamber down. It'll be a tighter fit, though.”

Natasha squeezed by him and glanced briefly in the barred powder magazine. “Where is the treasure? You never mentioned the details.”

Loki stopped, emptied their belongings out of his pocket, and pointed through the loophole window at the other wall of the fort. “It's in the counterscarp gallery.”

Natasha nodded and looked down the scarp gallery. “Have you been in here before?”

Loki shook his head. “But I studied the floorplan and all the pictures of it I could find.”

“Great,” Clint said. “We'll all be lost together.”

Loki rolled his eyes. It wasn't that complicated a fort. He let the humans go first, content to walk behind them and listen to them talk. The fort was primitive, especially by Asgardian standards, but only a century or two obsolete by human ones. Built of brickwork in arches and chambers designed to support the heavy sand that made up the parade ground, the fort would stand without restoration spells for a while.

But it needed them now. Cracks had appeared in the ceiling in some areas, with a light golden glow highlighting them. Sand had drifted onto the floor, squeaking and slippery underfoot, shaken either from the ceiling or, more likely, from behind the five-foot-high retaining walls that made up the interior of each chamber. And the chambers were small, no more than eight feet long and no more than six feet wide. Two loophole windows for firing black powder rifles were on the exterior wall, along with a rectangular opening near the ceiling midway between the windows to allow the smoke to escape.

He ran a hand over the rough brick, testing the magic. He couldn't discern a more specific date for the spells' failures than what he'd already told Clint and Natasha. Pity. It was an interesting sidenote in Alfheim's long history.

One that struck too close to home sometimes, depending on the status of Thor's and his relationship. Everything had changed since Jotunheim, and it was sometimes not for the better. Despite Thor trying to understand Loki more, it didn't always work. And if anyone else found out about his adoption… Loki shuddered and caught up with his lovers. They'd nearly reached the first corner chamber. “Clint, could you fire an arrow through a loophole on the other side?”

Clint looked at him. “You know I can.” He stepped closer to the slit window and peered through it. “But it'll ruin the wall and possibly collapse that side of the counterscarp, though, 'cause the only arrow I have that'll help is explosive. So if that's where the treasure is, we need to find another way in-- or out.”

Natasha side-eyed him. “You brought an explosive arrow?”

“A full complement of my usual ones, actually. I thought it would be better to have them just in case.”

Loki rubbed his forehead. Clint had brought his traditional recurve bow rather than the SHIELD-created collapsible one, and still brought arrows for-- “Do you have a different set that works with your wooden bow?”

“Courtesy of Stark, though I'd honestly expected him to complain a little more than he did about the lack of tech.”

Natasha shrugged and turned the corner. “Is the entire fort like this?”

“More or less, I think. You've seen the front already, from the outside.”

“Not terribly inventive,” she said. “What happened to the brothers?”

“One died with no heir a few decades after the war. The second died in a house fire with his family last-- no, two-- centuries ago.” Nat turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “Faulty wiring; it wasn't malicious. The last died a while ago, but his grandchildren run the estate now. His granddaughter is the one who closed the fort.”

Clint shrugged. “What'll happen once the spells run out?”

Loki said, “I don't know. I like to think they'd pay the preservation mages again, but I doubt they will. If they aren't reapplied, the fort will eventually collapse.”

“After we're done here, send them a letter saying you broke the curse and they'll open it again. No reason not to,” Clint said.

Loki snorted. “That would cause an inordinate amount of trouble.” He felt the corners of his eyes crinkle as he grinned. “I just may.” There wouldn't be that many diplomatic repercussions.

Clint's response to the largest corner room was an immediate, “We should move our stuff in here.”

Loki tilted his head. Yes, it was about equal in size to the guardroom, but more oddly laid out. But two of the loopholes had a view of the beach-- and there was no chance of water coming in through the entrance to the parade ground. “If we must.”

Natasha shook her head. “We already have everything set up; I see no reason to move again. We should explore the water battery before it starts raining harder.”

That entailed a brief trip to their belongings for both Clint and Natasha to find and pull on their rain ponchos. They went back onto the parade ground and made a beeline for the tunnel to the water battery, waiting only long enough for Loki to magically unlock the green doors. When they realized how dark and steep it was, especially with the clouds blocking the sun, Loki sent out a small light above their heads and they cautiously made their way down.

When they reached the door to the stairs, Loki spelled it open and dismissed the light due to the growing light level from the other end of the tunnel. Clint and Natasha peered into the small room at the stair's head, but didn't go in. It was a dead end and of little interest.

The water battery itself, unlike the fort proper, was whitewashed. They peered into another, smaller, room in the courtyard immediately to the right of the stairs and then went exploring. Clint then took the steep flight of stairs to the top of the rectangular part of the battery and stayed there. Natasha remained with Loki and they peered into the wood-lined powder magazines underneath it. They were large enough that they'd make a good place to sleep, but they were too far from their objective. They walked up the dual flight of stairs to the cannon level and peered out over the wall. When they turned around, Clint waved at them and they joined him.

Loki leaned on the wall and looked over the stormy bay and its white-capped waves rushing ashore, rain pounding down. He shook his head as it thundered. Humans could not always survive a lightning strike. “Do the two of you have no sense?”

Natasha shrugged. “We've been outside in worse storms. Clint in particular.”

Loki grinned at the reminder that Thor had broken into SHIELD's encampment to try to retrieve Mjolnir in the midst of such a storm. Of course, that was when any hope Loki had had of staying away from law enforcement attention evaporated. Despite the immediate difficulties Thor's arrest had caused, it had become easier to live afterward. Jane had her equipment returned; Thor and he had official identification for the duration of their exile (he'd tried to use it again a few months ago and had been soundly taken to task by Coulson, something very few humans dared do to him); and he'd met some interesting people-- not the least his two lovers. “Still, it's not entirely safe.”

They nodded and the three of them carefully walked down the steep, slippery steps and went back into the fort proper, Loki making a brief stop at the well to refill his canteen and the large plastic container Clint and Natasha used for unboiled water. By the time he returned, both of them had their ponchos off and spread out on the brick retaining wall to dry.

Clint nodded his head toward the stairs leading off from the right side of the sally port. “That has to lead to the counterscarp.”

Loki nodded and rekindled the light. “It's a stairway leading to a tunnel. I wouldn't suggest traveling it without a light.”

“Not unless we had to,” Clint muttered.

Natasha nudged him. “I don't think we will. There's no sign anyone lives here and the preservation spells keep the animals out. Unless you want to continue creeping yourself out--”

“Hey! Places like this on Earth are said to be haunted.”

Loki sighed. “I cannot begin to understand humanity's fascination with the undead.”

He led the way down the stairs and through the tunnel. “Mind your step if you want to explore to the right,” he said as they came up the steps into the whitewashed counterscarp. “There are no railings to keep you from falling.”

Natasha made a face. “It's not that dim in here. And it doesn't look like there's much of anything to the right.”

“According to the floorplan, just a powder magazine, an opening for a cannon, and a room the owners blocked off for storage.” Loki pointed down the long side of the corridor. “The treasure is this way.”

The counterscarp gallery, unlike the scarp, had its triangular-shaped smoke openings above each rifle loophole. It was one long corridor with no subdivisions, but with a sharp turn in the exact center. There was a larger room in the center, where four cannons would have stood-- two for each side of the ditch between the scarp and counterscarp-- and a closed green door to the powder magazine at the back wall. At the entrance to the other half of the counterscarp, doors of metal stood, though they had a few openings at various heights to peer through. They showed the other half was identical to the one they'd seen, albeit with no stairs to the tunnel leading to the rest of the fort.

Natasha peered through an opening and turned around. “So how do we get through?”

Loki grinned. “Magic.”

* * * * *

 

After lunch-- they had not moved to the larger corner room, partly because she'd put her foot down and partly because the rain seemed to be clearing and it meant they could move back onto the beach for their last night here-- they sat down to plan. Or rather, listen to Loki's plan now that he'd seen the area and felt the magic wrapped around it.

“I'll break the anti-teleportation ward first, so I can bring the two of you with. Otherwise, I'd just shapeshift. There are no wards against that. Bring your flashlights; I think we'll need them. The magazine won't have light. I'll need to concentrate on finding the object and neutralizing the curse; I can't risk even that little use of power.”

“After?” Clint said.

“After, we come back here and eat. I don't think the rain will have stopped by then.”

Natasha nodded at the same time as Clint. “Hopefully it will by evening. I'd like to spend another night on the beach.”

Loki turned his head and gave her a little smile. “I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed yourselves.”

Natasha stretched a little and stood. She nudged her pack out of the way and brushed a light kiss over Loki's lips. “I do not think I have ever been away from my responsibilities in such a way before. I like having a true vacation for once.”

“Ditto,” said Clint, pulling his bow out of its case. “Ready?”

Loki shook his head at the bow, but said nothing as he stood up. He led the way back to the counterscarp and the metal division in the middle of it. A diffuse green glow, harder to see in the growing light, surrounded the metal for a few seconds before abruptly vanishing. He grinned at them and grabbed their hands. A quick shifting of space and they were on the other side. Natasha suddenly felt less sure of their plan, given that Loki was their only way out unless Clint decided to shoot something. Though there were the cannon doors; they might be large enough to shimmy through.

Loki walked to the locked magazine door, ignoring her and Clint exploring the area around it in more detail. He stayed there, hands placed on the green-painted wood, for several minutes, before stepped back. The door swung open and Clint handed Loki his flashlight. “Wait out here until I tell you otherwise.”

They stayed in the doorway and watched Loki slowly walk back and forth. She felt more than saw Clint shiver and brushed her shoulder against him. She, too, felt out of place-- but this was Loki's world and they didn't often see him work magic of such subtlety. He finally shot them a grin, looking more than a little creepy in the light of two flashlights.

“Stay there; you'll see everything. Not that it'll be much.”

That said, he tossed Clint's flashlight back to him, and put his hands on the brick wall. Clint hurriedly turned his flashlight around and joined Natasha in providing some light for Loki. Bricks seemingly melted away under Loki's touch and he reached into a cavity. He froze for a brief instant and then drew out with both hands a gold sphere with a wide band around its circumference. Engravings covered the surface, some of them seeming to twitch in the light. Knowing a little about magic, Natasha wouldn't have put it past them. But Loki didn't appear concerned and tucked it into his magical pocket without any hint that something was wrong. He looked up at them, appearing more than a bit tired, as the bricks reformed and settled back in place with no sign they had ever gone missing.

A quick teleport to the guardroom later, and Loki's walk noticeably slowed. Despite the lack of visible effort, whatever he'd done had exhausted him. He collapsed onto his bedroll, ate the entire bag of Asgardian trail mix he'd brought along and hadn't touched before this, and fell asleep without a word. Clint, having grabbed food of their own, nodded toward the guardroom. They stepped outside into the parade ground, the rain actually having stopped, with blue sky beginning to poke through the clouds. Clint strode up to the wall and sat on it, despite the sign in some Elvish script that likely read some variation on “Do not climb.” Natasha followed suit, taking an MRE from him, and looked over the bay. Clint said, “Do you think he's okay?”

“He's not hiding anything,” she replied. “He's just tired.”

“This is nothing we were ever trained for,” Clint said, repeating back to her what she'd said three years ago when she'd realized that Thor and Loki were telling the truth about not being human and the likely fallout from it.

She'd been right, too. The world had changed and not always for the better. Plus, Thor was easy enough to get along with, but his younger brother… Yet that was part of her attraction for Loki. She didn't like men who let her steamroll over them.

“If the weather's still clear in another couple of hours, I think I'll try to climb over the back of the water battery and go down to the beach to catch some fish.”

She looked at the white half of the fort and nodded. It wasn't too steep of a drop and he'd handled worse. “I'll toss you the equipment. If he's as tired as I suspect, an earthquake wouldn't wake him.”

Clint chuckled. “If there are earthquakes here.”

She shot him an exasperated look and, having finished eating, slid back onto the ground. Clint stayed put. She stopped briefly to check on Loki and to grab the containers for water before coming back out. They needed more and now was the perfect time to purify it.

 

Loki came out of the scarp gallery about an hour after Clint escaped over the water battery's back wall. “Where's Clint?”

Natasha pointed to him on the beach. “Catching supper.” Loki smiled faintly and rubbed his eyes. He had dark circles under them now. “You okay?”

“I slept sufficiently.”

Natasha took that at face value. He knew his limits better than she did. “But you'd like more food.”

He nodded. “And I suppose we need to remove our trash. Better to do that while it's light.”

But he still moved slowly. Natasha kept her lips from thinning. She knew that he would rather have slept longer. They went over the fort for any debris they'd accidentally left behind, though neither one cared about footprints in the sand; no one would be able to tell who it was, if anyone came through after they'd left. (And if Loki did inform the owners he'd taken the treasure, they'd know full well who had been there, so it still didn't matter.) Loki also locked the doors he'd opened, reinstated the anti-teleport ward around the counterscarp gallery, and finally teleported both of them and their belongings to the beach.

He ended up sitting down on the blanket-covered tarp and letting both of them cook dinner with hardly a comment, either sarcastic or actual conversation. But he revived somewhat after he ate and went wading in the surf with them. After that… well, it was a good thing their blanket was rather large.

 

Loki spent most of breakfast silently staring at them with his eyes slightly narrowed or looking over Natasha's shoulder at the woods. He finally put the mug down and said, “I suppose you wish to return to Midgard now?”

Clint shrugged. “A few more hours here wouldn't be a bad thing. You said that we're currently six hours ahead, so you'd drop us off in the middle of the night.”

“So you don't want me to stay?”

Natasha tilted her head and said, “You implied before that you'd leave immediately for Asgard upon returning us to Earth. If you want to stay, you can.”

Loki didn't relax. “You don't want me to, though.”

“I would like it if you could. We don't see you enough.”

Clint said, “I can't think of a reason spending time at the cabin with us until we have to return to DC would be an imposition.”

Loki shifted and finally stood up. “I'll keep that in mind. If you'll excuse me?”

He went behind Natasha, heading for the latrine trench they'd dug in the woods. Natasha sighed and looked at the sun-drenched water. “At least this is better than New Mexico.”

Clint casually reached for and strung his bow. “I rather like the beach. And no scorpions.”

Natasha snorted. “Just wee beasties that we have no idea what they are.”

Clint chuckled, spun around, and shot one of the trank arrows at Loki. Natasha heard him crumple to the ground and stood up. “Let's hope he'll forgive us.”

“We need to get him to Asgard first,” Clint said, unstringing and laying the bow back in its case.

They walked over to Loki, Natasha carrying a blanket under her arm. They left the arrow sticking in his lower right leg alone. “It's a good thing he wasn't looking.”

Clint grimaced. “I know.”

They carefully moved him onto the blanket and managed to carry him back to their campsite without losing their grip on their makeshift stretcher. She swiftly packed everything while Clint put out the small fire they'd used to make coffee. Once that was done, Natasha looked at the sky and said, “Heimdall, I know we're not where we're supposed to be, much less asking for transport to Asgard, but Loki's been cursed.”

Not two seconds later, clouds began swirling overhead. Clint caught her eye and gave her a sardonic grin. “So how much trouble do you think we're in?”  
She laughed. “Plenty.”

* * * * *

 

The only reason Frigga did not run to Loki's side was that a queen could not. If he'd been younger, yes. But not to her adult son. Instead, she looked at her son's lovers and said, “What happened?”

They exchanged glances and Natasha said, “We were at a fort on Alfheim, the one with the cursed treasure--”

“And he touched it,” Frigga said dryly.

Clint said, “He thought he'd broken the curse.”

While they spoke, two guards transferred Loki onto a proper stretcher. The three of them followed them out of Heimdall's observatory, passing two servants leading packhorses to collect their belongings. Frigga gave Heimdall a nod in thanks, making a mental note to discover his thoughts on the matter later. As things stood, she needed to remain with Loki.

When they were settled in the skiff, she said, “Where is the object?”

“In his magical pocket,” Natasha said.

“I take it your arrow had a sedative?”

Clint nodded and pulled another one out of the quiver he wore. “This one also has the drug in it. SHIELD developed it to use against Asgardians. He should be out for only a couple of hours.”

Frigga raised an eyebrow, but neither of them looked the least abashed. She took it from him and laid it in her lap. “Why did you bring it?”

Clint shrugged a shoulder. “Just in case it didn't go as well as Loki planned. Physically, he's more than likely to beat us. And we have no defense against magic.”

“It's well you did, then.”

She stood up when the skiff docked at the healing rooms. They met Eir, and after Natasha told her a summary of what had occurred, Frigga handed her the arrow. Cursebreaking could wait until after they discovered whether the sedative was poisonous or not. But first she steered the two humans into the next available room. Natasha lifted her eyebrows. “Are we in danger?”

Frigga said, turning on one of the diagnostic machines, “It never hurts to be careful. I do not think the curse affected you. But you have been on an unfamiliar realm.”

Natasha smirked at Clint, though neither said anything. And neither complained for the brief minutes it took to scan them. “Both of you are fine.” She reached out and touched the charm hanging around Clint's neck. “This would be why.”

“Loki said they'd alert us to anything poisonous.”

“They do more than that,” Frigga said softly. “As long as you wear them, you won't fall ill. But they won't last much longer, a week at most.”

“When may we see him?”

“After he wakes up and the curse has been lifted.” She sighed and ushered them out of the room. “Because the treasure is in his pocket, there is no point in lifting it now; it would just reattach itself when he removed the treasure.” She gestured at a small seating area overlooking the Bifrost. “You may remain here if you wish, or you may go to his rooms, though I would not suggest doing so alone.”

Neither one of them looked surprised, but then, they knew Jane. And the stars above knew Jane both loved and hated Asgard.

“We'll stay here,” Natasha said.

“I'll send a message for Lady Sif to meet you here once she is done training for the morning. It will only be an hour or so.”

They headed to the seating area and once they settled themselves on the chairs, Frigga subtly spelled the area so no one else save those who worked in the healing rooms or herself could enter. There would be trouble enough later with their presence; there was no need to invite more now.

 

* * * * *

 

Natasha watched Clint. He leaned against the stone railing, looking down at the street he could barely see. The Bifrost had only activated once, and it perturbed her that she didn't know what the normal usage rate was. Though it had been something to see, a line of light stretching out into the darkness of space. But there was little else here to do. Even the nebulas and the star-spangled daytime sky had only held her interest for a few minutes.

When she heard footsteps coming onto the patio, Natasha stood up and broke into a smile when she saw Sif. “Good afternoon.”

Sif half-smiled. “It will be an interesting one. Have you eaten yet?”

“Nope,” Clint said as he joined them. “The queen sort-of locked us in here.”

“Yes, she did have to lower a ward for me. But we can leave now.” She glanced at them. “I think our first stop will be to find suitable clothing for you two.”

Natasha nodded. Earth clothing would stand out here, make them targets in a crowd. Plus, she'd seen some of Jane's wardrobe. Having an Asgardian dress would be lovely.

Sif took them in a skiff to the palace to save time and Clint spent most of the short journey hanging over the side. Sif shook her head and looked at Natasha. “How is Jane?”

“I've only talked to her once since Malekith's attack, about a week and a half afterward. She's doing well, as far as I know.”

“I am glad to hear that.” Sif docked the skiff and they climbed out. She led them by the guards at the entrance and through several grand halls held up by columns. People of all shapes and colors walked through the halls and Natasha and Clint got more than their fair share of stares. But they passed out of the public area of the palace swiftly enough-- Sif stopped one servant as they did, though Natasha couldn't hear what she said-- and into the private residences. She paused outside of a door and said, “Be careful where you go in here. Loki has wards up to prevent people from prying. While they aren't fatal for Asgardians…”

Clint nodded and she pushed open the door. It opened onto a small seating area with a fireplace at one end, a bookcase and chair at the other, a couch against the other wall, and a cushioned bench on either side of the doorway. A low table stood in front of the couch. A door carved with a tree led deeper into Loki's chambers.

Sif closed the main door and then walked over to the other one. “This is the public room of his suite. I'll show you what I can of the rest.”

Which didn't turn out to be much. The doorway opened onto a room lined with bookcases, a small fire pit in the center, with a leather couch on one side of it. A glass door between two bookcases led out to the balcony. Two doors led off to the right and a single one to the left. Sif pointed at the ones on the right. “Those are his workroom and spellbook library. They're warded so no one else can enter them. His bedroom isn't warded, though.”

Clint poked his head into it and grinned. “Our luggage is here.” He disappeared briefly and came back with his camera. “May as well have some evidence we were here.”

Sif rolled her eyes. “Trying to prove something?”

“Nah. I doubt I'll come here again unless it's for Thor's wedding. I want pictures.”

Natasha snorted. “And something for Stark.”

“That, too.” He dropped the camera on the couch and said, “You mentioned something about clothes?”

“Someone should be here momentarily.”

A short time later, Natasha wore a forest green, short-sleeved, ankle-length dress with gold knotwork embroidered on the lower hem, though she kept her boots. Clint wore an even darker green shirt, a sleeveless black leather tunic, and matching pants. Only then did Sif take them on a tour of the city around the palace.

They had several different native Asgardian foods-- meats, fruits, and vegetables-- from a handful of market stands. She took them to her favorite weaponsmith, where Natasha was frankly envious of the knives and Clint's gaze lingered on one in particular. But neither one had the funds to buy anything and they wouldn't take advantage of Loki like that. Sif then took them to one of the training yards, where Clint managed to impress the Asgardians with his marksmanship and Natasha received a quiet offer from Sif to spar in the morning. When a messenger found and told them Loki was awake, they went back to the healing rooms.

Frigga met them outside the door to his room. “He's in a poor mood.”

Natasha and Clint glanced at each other. “It's nothing we haven't seen before.”

“I'll stay out here,” Sif said quietly. “He won't want an audience.”

Natasha and Clint entered the room to find Loki sitting upright in bed and glaring at them. “You shot me.”

“Yeah, and a good thing, too,” Clint retorted.

“I would have returned you to Earth!”

“Would you have returned to Asgard afterward?” Natasha said, crossing her arms.

Loki blinked. “Well, no.”

“Then we did the right thing.”

Loki glanced down at his bandaged leg. “Why did you think making a drug to subdue--”

“Oh, for the love of--!” Natasha took a step forward. “Loki, you warned us what could happen. You were prepared to stop us if we needed it. Why couldn't we do the same for you?”

Loki lay back down and shifted a pillow behind his head. “How did you even notice?”

Natasha uncrossed her arms. “You were acting like you were in New Mexico: suspicious of everyone and everything.”

“That still doesn't give you the right--”

“Then what does?” Clint said. “We couldn't let you wander off to die.”

Loki closed his eyes. “I…”

He didn't finish speaking. Natasha frowned and then reached out to poke the blanket-covered foot of his uninjured leg. He didn't so much as twitch. “He fell asleep.”

Clint raised his eyebrows. “And he thinks he didn't need our help.”

They left the room, informed Frigga he was asleep, and again left for the palace with Sif. She said, “Don't take it personally. He's always in a foul mood if he has to spend any time in the healing rooms.”

“He takes his injuries as personal affronts,” Natasha said. “He's more embarrassed than anything right now, though.”

Sif shot her a look and said, “I think it's best if we stay in the palace now. If he's awake enough to be cranky, Eir will let him leave soon.”

She showed them the throne room-- still undergoing repairs-- the library, and several other places of interest. After leading them back to Loki's chambers, she excused herself to attend to other duties. Clint collapsed onto the couch in front of the fire pit and began reviewing the photos he'd taken.

Natasha leaned against a bookcase and looked through the glass door. The city spread out before her, with mountains in the near distance and the water glistening off to the left. She sighed and joined Clint on the couch. “This is not how I anticipated our first visit to Asgard happening.”

Clint nudged her with his elbow. “I didn't think it would happen any other way.” He looked up from his camera's screen. “Not with the trouble Loki stumbles into.”

Natasha laughed. “I could say the same thing about us.”

He grinned at her. “And people wonder why we ended up in a relationship with him.”

She smiled back and shifted to lay her head on Clint's shoulder.

 

* * * * *

 

Several hours after her son's arrival home, Loki was naturally asleep, his dark hair spread out on the pillow and his hand in hers. After Clint and Natasha had returned to the palace, he'd been left alone. Few people wanted to deal with him in a mood, if he'd even been awake to see them, and Odin could not come until his meetings were over.

It was late in the afternoon, shading toward evening, when the door opened and he strode in. He at least waited until the door was closed before shouting, “What did he do this time?!” Frigga raised a finger to her lips, but Loki didn't stir. Odin glanced at him, and said in a low tone, “And what are his mortals doing here?”

“They're the reason he's here at all, Odin. And they're staying in his chambers. They also know why.”

“So they said.”

That was a risk they'd willingly taken on by traveling to the palace, even with Sif's company. “And?”

Odin sighed. “Neither one of them seem to want anything from Loki that he hasn't already given them.”

“You have a habit of underestimating mortals.”

“Yet neither of us trust many of them with our sons.”

“Our sons have good judgement.” She paused. “At times. I believe they get that from you.”

He grimaced. “They are young. They'll learn.”

“As you have? Or did you forget your poor judgement nearly led us all to ruin hardly a month ago?”

Odin winced. “I have not forgotten, no.” He stepped to her side and gently wrapped an arm over her shoulders. “I nearly lost you. If it hadn't been for Loki helping you protect Jane--”

“It still does not change what nearly happened nor my anger. You were foolish, Odin, and blinded by hatred. When you ignored the counsel that saved us all…” Frigga sighed. Now was not the time for this argument. “What did you do with the treasure Loki retrieved?”

“It's in the vault for now. The curse has been removed, and Loki can do with it as he wishes. I have no use for it.” He looked down at his son. “The mortals leave in the morning.”

“They'll leave when they wish to leave.”

Odin quirked a smile. “They are due back at SHIELD in a day. Their departure is not my doing.”

“I rather suspect that Loki would ignore a dictate from you about that if you had made one.”

Odin shook his head and left the room rather than respond. When the door closed, Loki said quietly, “I think I owe Clint and Natasha an apology.”

“That would be a good place to start.” She brushed her free hand over his forehead. No fever, good. “You may leave when you wish.”

“Good.” He sat up and pulled his hand from hers. “I would rather sleep in my own bed tonight.”

“Next time, will you be so reckless?”

“I thought I knew the counterspell.”

“You don't know everything about magic, son.”

“Yet.” He grinned and looked down at the light green, knee-length tunic the healers had put him in. “I would like to dress, Mother.”

“Of course, dear.” She kissed his forehead and left him to it. She needed to talk with Eir about the human-made sedative and see if one of the research teams could engineer an antidote.

 

* * * * *

 

Natasha kept sneaking glances at Loki as he pushed his food around his plate. It had been a meal dominated by Frigga conversing with her and Clint, a subtle but polite interrogation. Odin had been forbidden Frigga's table ever since she recovered from her wound, which made the atmosphere more relaxed. Natasha had not enjoyed their meeting with him earlier.

Frigga finally said, “Do you like working for SHIELD?”

Clint said, “For the most part. You are aware of what we do?”

Frigga nodded. “The work those in high places prefer not to or cannot acknowledge. But you believe you are making the world a better place?”

“Yeah. We've been on some ops that went badly wrong, and one in such a way that it made the overall situation in the area worse, but we protect people. And our ops haven't gone that wrong in years.”

“It allows us to balance out our past mistakes,” Natasha said with a glance at Loki. “It doesn't make them disappear, but I can point to my ledger and say, 'I did wrong, but I've changed.' It allows me to sleep at night.”

“Mostly,” Loki muttered. “All of our ledgers are dripping red and we can't change the past. Pretending otherwise--”

“Like you pretend?” Frigga said. “You've done work for Asgard that the court can never know about. I know that you only rarely have nightmares about it.”

“I have yet to have one, Mother. I don't regret my actions that night, or any other time I had to protect Asgard secretly.” He gestured at them. “They regret their pasts.”

“You regret your actions at the coronation.”

Loki growled. “Are you determined to have everyone in your family angry at you, Mother?”

“Hardly. But you need to stop hating yourself for something you cannot control or change.”

“That mistake has nothing to do with my birth!”

“It has everything to do with it.”

Natasha nudged Clint with her foot and they both excused themselves before they were drawn into an argument they only barely understood. A guard escorted them back to Loki's chambers, where they sat down on the leather couch in front of the lit fire pit. Clint leaned his head back against the leather. “So, apart from the technology, Asgard is exactly like Earth: dysfunctional.”

“This surprises you?”

“Tasha…”

She huffed a laugh and nudged him with her foot. “Blow something up or sex?”

“Sex. And he's not going to be gentle.”

She stretched. “Good. I need it.”

Clint grinned. “I'm going to enjoy watching this, aren't I?” The door slammed open behind them and Clint glanced over his shoulder before looking back at Natasha. “Definitely.”

Natasha stood up and sauntered toward Loki before he could ask what they were discussing. He carefully closed the door behind him, not taking his eyes off her. “Ah. Yes, Clint, I dare say you will.”

 

* * * * *

 

Loki leaned against the stone railing, watching Sif and Natasha circling each other. Natasha sparring with Sif was attracting rather a crowd. From up here, he at least had an unimpeded view.

“I heard a rumor that you took Natasha to bed because you couldn't take Sif.”

Loki rolled his eyes and said, “I thought you were on Earth.”

“I was. But when Mother sent a message via the ravens that basically summed up as, ‘Your brother has been an idiot and also his lovers are here on Asgard,’ I felt it rather more important to come home.”

“So she told you what happened?”

“Father did. He met me at the Bifrost.”

Loki turned to him with raised eyebrows. “That is unlike him.”

Thor sighed and watched the two women fighting. “He wished to impress upon me that you at least had treated your lovers as lovers, housing them in your bedchamber rather than treating them as people you are courting and housing them in their own suite.”

Loki sighed. “He still wishes you to court Sif, doesn't he?”

“Or someone else of Asgard. He does not understand why I love Jane.”

“Nor will he. He's too blinded by what he thinks is right to see the truth in front of his eyes.”

Thor clasped a hand on Loki's shoulder. Loki knew his brother knew full well how difficult Loki's relationship with Odin was on the best of days, ever since they'd come home from Earth and he waited a week for everything to settle down (at Natasha's advice) before confronting his parents about the truth he'd realized about himself. Loki had the feeling if Mother hadn't been there, the conversation would have gone far worse. Loki finally said, “I'm surprised he hasn't banned Jane from visiting.”

“He tried. Mother wouldn't let him. I'm surprised he didn't make a comment about you falling in love with two mortals.”

“He did.” Loki flashed his teeth at Thor. “I said that if it discombobulated him that badly then I would court them.”

Thor laughed. “He believed you?”

“More due to his feelings about mortals than actually thinking I'd go through with it, but yes.”

Thor turned to face Loki. “Will you be returning with them?”

Loki shook his head. “Mother would prefer I stay here for the next few weeks. Clint said that there are hints that he'll be assigned another long-term assignment by SHIELD, so I won't be able to visit him anyway. But Natasha and I will meet occasionally.”

“Just don't antagonize-- Be careful, Loki. Mother told me about the drug. It worries me.”

Loki shrugged. “It's a sedative, somewhat stronger than we'd use in a similar situation. And do you really blame them for trying to create some defense against us, especially now they no longer have the Tesseract?”

“No. But it is strange to think of our allies doing that. I cannot imagine why we would go to war against them.”

“Intelligence organizations are paranoid by nature--” he held up a finger. “Don't, Thor. Don't say a word.”

The grin on his face told Loki he'd stopped his brother just in time. “I wouldn't dream of it.” He slapped his brother on the back and went over to the stairs leading to the training area. The crowd split easily for him, and Loki turned his attention back to the match.

 

* * * * *

 

Natasha hugged Loki. “I wish you could come with us.”

Clint muttered, “I think our vacation needs a vacation.”

Loki pulled Clint into the embrace. “What? Asgard wasn't one?”

“I still have bruises on top of bruises.” Natasha wiggled out of it and stepped back.

“That would be your fault for encouraging Sif.”

“You gave me half of them.”

Loki grinned at her and let Clint go. “I did indeed.” He swooped in, kissed her, and then spun to kiss Clint. “Take care, both of you.”

“We will,” Natasha said softly as Loki stepped out of range of the Bifrost.

A wild rainbow ride later and they were safely deposited in the early evening next to their cabin. Clint looked at her. “Back to DC. It's going to be tame compared to this past week.”

Natasha laughed. “You may well be right.”

She picked up her bags and headed to the car.

 

* * * * *

 

Frigga linked her arm with Loki's as he walked up the steps into the palace. “I liked them.”

His smile made him look decades younger. “I hoped you would.” And then it shifted into something more mischievous. “I'll bring them back on occasion.”

“I look forward to it.”

* * * * *

 

Coulson greeted them with a smile and a wave of his coffee mug. Natasha made a beeline for the pot and poured both her and Clint cups. She put a packet of sugar in his before sliding it down the counter to him and left hers black. She'd missed this; Asgard still did not have coffee, despite Thor's efforts to get the beans to grow, and they hadn't thought to make any with the small amount they'd had left from their camping supplies.

After leaving the break room, they settled down in Coulson's office. He studied both of them, eyes briefly lingering on the bruise on Natasha's neck that she knew wasn’t completely hidden under her uniform’s collar. “I'm not sure if I want to know how your vacation went.”

“It was interesting,” Natasha said with a grin.

“Define interesting.”

“Loki was cursed,” Clint said.

“I take it you went somewhere other than the cabin?”

She said, “Alfheim and then Asgard.”

Coulson briefly closed his eyes. “I knew I didn't want to know. How many diplomatic incidents did you cause?”

Natasha laughed. “At least two. I'll let you know if I hear about any more.”

She sipped her coffee as Coulson sighed.

**Author's Note:**

> The fort in the story [actually](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Barrancas) [exists](http://www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisit/fort-barrancas.htm), and I spent a couple of years of my childhood living a short walk from it. I had the opportunity to visit Fort Barrancas again earlier this year, and as I walked up to its entrance, the fort set itself in the fic in place of the rather generic castle it originally had. I changed very few details-- apart from the history, I mostly removed safety railings and had the well functioning.


End file.
